Industrial fermentations predominately use glucose as a feedstock for the production of a multitude of proteins, enzymes, alcohols, and other chemical end products. Typically, glucose is the product of starch processing, which is conventionally a two-step, enzymatic process that catalyzes the breakdown of starch, involving liquefaction and saccharification. During liquefaction, insoluble granular starch is slurried in water, gelatinized with heat, and hydrolyzed by a thermostable alpha-amylase. During saccharification, the soluble dextrins produced in liquefaction are further hydrolyzed by glucoamylases.
Glucoamylases are exo-acting carbohydrases, capable of hydrolyzing both the linear and branched glucosidic linkages of starch (e.g., amylose and amylopectin). Commercially, glucoamylases are typically used in the acidic pH ranges (pH less than 5.0) to produce fermentable sugars from the enzyme liquefied starch substrate. The fermentable sugars, e.g., low molecular weight sugars, such as glucose, may then be converted to fructose by other enzymes (e.g., glucose isomerases); crystallized; or used in fermentations to produce numerous end products (e.g., alcohols, monosodium glutamate, succinic acid, vitamins, amino acids, 1,3-propanediol, and lactic acid).
A system that combines (1) saccharification and (2) fermentation is known as simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). SSF replaces the classical double-step fermentation, i.e., production of fermentable sugars first and then conducting the fermentation process for producing the end product. In SSF, an inoculum can be added along with the starch hydrolyzing enzymes to concurrently saccharify a starch substrate and convert the saccharification products (i.e., fermentable sugars) to the desired end product. The inoculum is typically a microorganism capable of producing the end product. In addition to its various advantages, SSF is particularly promising where a high concentration substrate is present in a low reactor volume.
Isoprenoids are compounds derived from the isoprenoid precursor molecules IPP and DMAPP. Over 29,000 isoprenoid compounds have been identified and new isoprenoids are being discovered each year. Isoprenoids can be isolated from natural products, such as microorganisms and species of plants that use isoprenoid precursor molecules as a basic building block to form the relatively complex structures of isoprenoids. Isoprenoids are vital to most living organisms and cells, providing a means to maintain cellular membrane fluidity and electron transport. In nature, isoprenoids function in roles as diverse as natural pesticides in plants to contributing to the scents associated with cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Moreover, the pharmaceutical and chemical communities use isoprenoids as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, flavoring agents, and agricultural pest control agents. Given their importance in biological systems and usefulness in a broad range of applications, isoprenoids have been the focus of much attention by scientists.
What is needed is a simple, efficient method of producing isoprenoids in commercial quantities.
Throughout this specification, references are made to publications (e.g., scientific articles), patent applications, patents, etc., all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.